Easter 2009

Spring Break ... Breaking Some Eggs

  Sun Catchers... Finally!

We had such a great Spring Break.  After a week in N.Y. we were happy to be home all week with now where to go and nothing we HAD to do.  Grace finally got to paint her sun catchers that Grandma & Grandpa M. got her for her birthday... in JANUARY!  Did I mention we've been a little too busy? 

  Happy Easter  

  Just a bit excited.  And this is BEFORE any sugar!

Grace after the hunt

Sam and Grace were really bummed that the E.B. forgot to visit us on Saturday morning like he usually does.  He must have been out late the night before with friends having a great time and been distracted.  I hear he does stuff like that.  Anyway, they were excited to see that he'd come on Sunday morning after all.   The kids will forgive anything for chocolate.  Can you tell they're my kids? 

Some of the loot
Sam's stash

In keeping with the traditions I enjoyed growing up the kids have to hunt for eggs and for their baskets.  Sam's was in the blanket basket and Grace found hers in the kitchen trash this year (it was cleaned out).   We do "egg wars" - a Greek tradition my family has done and that I loved as a kid.  Egg wars were the best as a kid.  The only down side was the rule that I actually had to EAT all the eggs I cracked.   Where do moms come up with these cruel rules?  My mom was nice to send us some Baklava again this year so that we can still enjoy that tradition without having to do all the work.  Okay, so moms aren't so bad after all! 

  On your marks... Get set...

We drove up to DC for our annual egg hunt with the Payne cousins.  We spent almost 6 hours in the car and only 4 hours there.  Hmmm.... it was fun for most.  The kids had a blast and didn't let a little thing like stop-and-go traffic deter them from wanting to turn around and go again.  

It was fun to see everyone.  We were driving all morning while the weather was nice.  It rained around lunch time, so Rusty had to grill in the rain.  The rain forced a change of venue and the hunt had to be held in the house.  Did I mention that the kids don't let things like this dampen their enthusiasm?  

Of course, the sun came out right as we pulled away from their house and all the neighbor kids were OUTSIDE having egg hunts.  Oh, well.  There's always next year.  

  And Go!!

Tae Kwon Do

 Sam Poses after Tae Kwon Do

For career day at Sam's school they had some guys come to do a Tae Kwon Do demonstration.  Sam LOVED it!  They gave him a coupon for a free class (ulterior motive?  No!).  He wouldn't let us forget the free class.  Gary took Sam and his friend, Josh and they got to see another demo and break a board with their feet.  It was like crack to this kid!  Sam was hooked!

That was months ago and he's been asking about it ever since.  I finally talked them into letting us try it for 6 months (rather than the 12 month commitment they typically require) and so we signed up.   Come on!  12 months is a HUGE percentage of his life at this point!!!

Sam does such an amazing job in his class!  We hardly recognize the focus, concentration, and exact obedience he exhibits in class.  Plus it's started to spill over to home.  Occasionally I'll ask him to do something and he'll stand at attention and say "Yes Ma'am!"  

Yesterday he was doing great in class and didn't even realize that his instructor (Master Cho) was "testing" him on some of the Korean he had to learn and some of the moves he had to do.  He was amazed to discover at the end of class that he'd earned his first tape on his belt.  He was on cloud 9!  He's so proud of himself and Gary and I are proud of his accomplishment, too.  He's working really hard in class.   2 more tapes and then he can test for his yellow belt.  

 Posing

Check me out!  Way to go, Sam!

New York - Last Day

Sorry to anyone who is New Yorked out from reading our blog lately!  The kids get a kick out of checking it and I ended up doing each day instead of one post on the trip (which would have made more sense!)  I promise we're home and won't subject you to any more stories from the trip!  

Disney on 5th Avenue

Our last day was the day for running around getting souvenirs for the kids.  They held off all week, taking it all in and crafting their shopping lists.  They collect keychains, so the final day we hit the Disney store for keychains.  We also went back to the M&M store for some keychains.  True to our M&M store history, I threw in a tiny little magnet that turned out to be $16!  

We were supposed to leave the airport at 4pm but were delayed until after midnight!  Of course, I'd redistributed our stuff to pack the movies and books and games in our checked luggage (thinking we only had an hour flight ahead of us).  We camped out in the airport, played Webkinz, watched Space Buddies (purchased for an arm and a leg in the airport) and the kids made friends with other kids for a good round of Simon Says.  Aaargh!!  

   Hours at JFK

We finally made it home to our house around 2:30 am.  We were beat!  We had a great trip, though.  Many thanks to my mom for meeting us there and helping with the kids.  Also, it was a lot of fun just to hang out with her.  She was a good sport, always in a good mood and up for anything.  I wish the same could be said of me! Thanks, Mom!

New York Day #4

Lady Liberty by Sam

We took the boat over to Liberty Island for the day.  Sam took this picture of the Statue of Liberty.  

 Heather & Barbara 

Mom & I pose with Manhattan in the background... trust me.  You can't tell through the fog, but it's there.  We struck out on views this trip. 

  The Gang 

 Little Liberties

 The Gals

 World Trade Center Statue

This statue was in the plaza of the World Trade Center before 9/11.  It survived the attacks, but is beat up.  It was kind of amazing to see these huge holes blown through solid metal.  They have a plaque in front of it that dedicates it as a testiment to our perseverance.  Very cool.

 Fast Money

My mom & dad love this show, so when we walked by a live taping in Time's Square, Mom posed for a shot.  Proof that she was there.  

 Gary Scores!

We had already been to 2 shows, but Gary really wanted to see The Little Mermaid and debated paying full price the night before.  We decided to take a chance at the TKTS counter and scored 1/2 price tickets.  It was definitely the weakest of the three we saw.  

  The Little Mermaid

Grace loved the show.  

 Sam's Favorite Street Performers

We went to 3 Broadway productions and had great seats.  When we asked which show was their favorite Sam named these street performers.  Let's see... we donated about $5 to them... hmmm... good to know for next time!  

I Love N.Y!  

Here's what happens when you take in one too many sights before a much-needed lunch!

New York - Day #3 

 It's a Jolly Holiday...

We went to a matinee of Mary Poppins.  It was a great show!  Highlights included Bert dancing up the side walls and across the ceiling, statues coming to life, and Mary flying right over our heads up to the top of the theater in the back to end the show.  
 Sam & Grace after the show

The Rock

We headed over to Rockafeller Center to check out some of the shopping in the area and some of the old churches.  Was it a bad sign that when we walked into St. Patrick's (old Gothic cathedral) Sam asked "what store is this?"  

American Dream

Sam & Grace posed at Kip's treehouse in the American Girl store.  That place is amazing!  It is 4 stories of nothing but American Girls and accessories.  You can get any outfit for you and your doll.  There is a beauty salon where they'll fix your doll's hair, a cafe where they cater to you and your doll, a doll hospital with intake for your to fill out "insurance" paperwork, etc.  Gary met us late and held up one hand "this is the top" and then the other hand over it "here's this place!"  (as in.. over the top!)  Grace was in heaven!  
  The Scene of the Crime

Grace and Grandma were caught in the act!  Grandma let Grace pick out an accessory for her doll (the knock off from Target that she saved her allowance for).  She picked out little glasses and then Grandma threw in a Hawaiian outfit complete with a story.  It comes in a little box with American Girl tissue paper and a hanger, etc.  We couldn't even look down to SEE "the top" by the time we left! 

Speaking of "the top"... we had pre-purchased tickets to go to the Top of the Rock at Rockafeller Center.  Unfortunately, the fog and rain rolled in.  Good:  we had the place to ourselves.  Bad:  There's a reason - check out that $20/person view!  Hmmm.... fog everywhere!  
Top of the Rock
Grace loses her balance!

Afterwards we walked around trying to find the Magnolia Bakery again.  I'd seen it earlier that morning and wanted to go in.  It was totally worth the hunt.  
 Yummy!

AAAaaaaa!!!!!

My LAST trip to N.Y. was as a kid.  This was before internet (yes, it was a long time ago!) and my parents booked a place over the phone based on a central location and cheap rate.  When we got there to check in the guy didn't know how much it would even be to rent the place out for the whole night, since they typically rented rooms BY THE HOUR!  Yes, we saw some interesting stuff and I was scarred for life!  My mom and I posed for a pic when we saw the same hotel, Hotel Carter!  Mom tried to tell us it wasn't in such a bad area (right off Time's Square), but Time's Square has changed just a tad in the last 25 years or so!  Nice try, Mom!  :-)

New York - Day #2

New York - Day #2

 Cheeky Sam!  

We spent the day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We'd just finished reading "From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler" that morning (thanks Robyn, for the suggestion!) and headed off to see where Claudia and Jamie camped out in the museum.  We also had our book, "You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum" with us.   It gave us some good 'treasure hunts' to look for pieces of art in the museum.  It was a long day - that place is HUGE!, but we saw some fun stuff, including (Grace is certain) the bed Claudia and Jamie slept in (in the book) and the sarcophagus where they hid their instrument cases.   
 Knights and Armor 
 A real live mummy!  

The kids liked hiding in the Egyptian temple where Claudia & Jamie hid from his class. 
 Treasure Hunt

One of the many pieces from our treasure hunt with the book - You really can't bring a balloon in this place! 
 NY Pretzles with Grandma

 Central Park

Grace climbed a tree in Central Park.  We wanted to find a specific playground in the park, but struck out.  Instead we wandered around and found a place to play.  It was a beautiful day.  That night we geared up for our first show:  The Lion King! 
Sam and Scar

Sam poses with Scar's costume in the lobby after the performance.  It was an amazing show!  We all loved it!  
 Sam, Grace, & Grandma

Outside the theater.  We were literally across one street from the theater.  Our hotel room looked out onto the top of the Lion King theater.  
Olivia was here

The kids liked seeing this work by Pollock that Olivia (the little pig) copies on her wall in the book by the same title.  

Grace has been studying lots of modern art in her class, Warhall, Haring, and other artists.  We really enjoy the Katie books (Katie's Sunday Afternoon, etc.) where she goes into the paintings while her grandma naps in the gallery.  We also like the series where you meet each of the artists (Degas and the Little Dancer, Picasso and the Sunflowers, etc.)  so the kids were familiar with many of the paintings we saw.  The museum is huge and was hard for us to navigate, but I'm so glad we went!

We took a trip to New York City to coincide with Gary's business trip.  My mom met us there to help me tour the city with the kids while Gary worked.   Here are some of the highlights from day #1.  BTW, We've been in the airport now for hours waiting for our flight.  The flight home takes 50 minutes.  We were supposed to leave at 4pm and be home before 5 pm.  We aren't scheduled to take off now until midnight.  Fun, fun, fun.  The result is that I have lots of time to blog!  You may get more detail than you bargained for!

Speaking of more than you bargained for....

 The Naked Cowboy

We got to New York, checked into our hotel in Time's Square and went out to check out the city.  We were greeted by the famous Naked Cowboy, who was posing for pics with your hand on his bum.  I declined.  Welcome to New York!  

Things that make you say "mmmmmm"  

Sam & Grace loved the M&M store in Time's Square.  Sam loved the giant screen showing the red M scaling the Empire State Building like King Kong, only to realize how high he was and get really scared!  We checked out everything in the 3 story store.   My mom met up with us and began her spoiling by letting the kids each fill a little bag with the M&Ms of their choice.  She thought the price was $1.99/pound, but discovered at the register that it was really $11.99/pound!!  They were the most expensive M&Ms I've ever had.  Thanks Grandma!!  

Give me your poor, your tired, your yummy chocolate yearning to be eaten....

 The Big Apple

The Grenwhich Debacle 

Our outing to the Villiage resulted largely in being lost, getting to things after they closed, and walking a ton for the privilege.  We finally settled on a restaurant (mediocre food at astronomical prices) for dinner.  Afterwards we posed while my mom took a picture and Gary said "Everyone say 'debacle'!"  I had to laugh!  

The Creperie!

Grace kept getting mixed up and thinking we were going to Paris (I wish!).  She was bummed that she wasn't going to get one of the crepes I'd told her about in Paris.  When we saw the creperie we knew it was destiny!  They were awesome!!!  Totally saved the night!  Nothing cheers me up like Nutella and raspberry!  

Subway surfers

The kids thought the night was okay since they could stand up and "surf" on the subways!  All those lectures on wearing seatbelts and sitting in booster seats went out the window in N.Y.  They loved it!

Lego Lover's Paradise!

Sam couldn't believe his eyes in the Time's Square Toys R Us.  They had the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building constructed from Legos.  They had tons of other displays including a life sized kid and dog getting ice cream from a cart.  Even the "big" kids had to admit it was pretty cool!  

Grandma continued the spoiling a few days later when she took him back to the store to pick out a Lego of his own.  She knows the way to this kid's heart!

We finished the night tired but happy.